Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Bristol Theatre Company’s current show is “The Drowsy Chaperone”, a five-time Tony Award winning musical. The show first opened on Broadway on May 1, 2006 and starred Georgia Engel as Mrs. Tottendale. It won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score. The hilarious show-within-a-show begins when a die-hard musical fan decides to play his favorite cast album, a 1928 smash hit called The Drowsy Chaperone and the show magically bursts to life right in his very own apartment. It is a send up of a Jazz Age musical featuring one show stopping number after another. When the house lights dim, a man in a chair appears onstage and plays his favorite recording of this fictitious 1928 musical. The recording comes to life and “The Drowsy Chaperone” begins. Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and an intoxicated chaperone and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight. Director Christopher Margadonna picks the best 16 performers for these wild and madcap roles, winning his cast a thunderous standing ovation at the close of the show.
Chris adds some hilarious shtick to this show including Washington crossing the Delaware during “As You Stumble Along” with the cast moving Janet and the chaperone across the stage on the couch. Some of the sensational dance numbers choreographed for this show by Diane Champagne include the Charleston, tap, tango and Busby Berkley type dances to name a few, especially impressive is the roller skating dance while blindfolded. Chris is aided in his task by musical director Matt Marion who also plays lead keyboards for the show and taught the beautiful 1920’s type score to the cast. He leads a fabulous 5 piece orchestra. Christopher designed the two story set and the costumes are gorgeous especially the red outfit for the chaperone in Act 2.
Leading this cast in the pivotal role of the Man in the Chair is Frank O’Donnell. He narrates the show, keeping the plot moving along as well as delivering and enormous amounts of dialogue. The Man in the Chair weaves in and out of the scenes in a very hilarious manner. One of his funniest lines is that man wearing a unicorn penis on his head and Frank makes many other comic references along the way. He joins in on “Bride’s Lament”, the finale of Act 1 as well as the final scene of the show. This is one of the best roles I have seen Frank perform. Bravo!
Sarah Reed is fabulous as Janet Van De Graaff, showgirl who is giving up show biz to get married to an oil tycoon. Her voice is terrific as is her acting. Pretty blonde Sarah delivers the goods with her numbers including “Show Off” which begins as a torch song, builds into a belting number where she does high kicks and the hilarious “Bride’s Lament” where she compares her boyfriend to a monkey on a pedestal. Liam Bullard is tall, dark and handsome as her suitor Robert Martin. He is also a marvelous actor, singer and dancer especially in “Accident Waiting to Happen” when he roller skates around the stage while blindfolded. He also does an excellent song and dance routine to “Cold Feets” with RJ Lima as George, the best man. Their tap dancing in this number is breathtaking. RJ uses his tenor voice to also sing “Wedding Songs.”
The biggest scene stealer in this show is Samantha Brilhante as the drowsy chaperone with the clever shtick Chris gave her to do. She is hilarious when she guzzles the booze. Samantha uses her marvelous voice in the show stopping “As We Stumble Along” which refers to her drinking. She is also comical in “I Am Aldolpho” where she seduces the Latin lover with a tango and in “Message from a Nightingale” which sounds like “Western People Funny” from “The King & I.” It has rhyming words like Asian and Caucasian. Samantha does the latter song with Aldolpho, Kitty and the two gangsters and it leaves the audience in stitches. I have been reviewing her since she was in seventh grade in 2002.
Another scene stealer is the Latin Lothario played by Tre DiGioia. He has dark swarthy looks and he uses a smarmy charm to win over the audience as this character. His “I Am Aldolpho” is hysterical with a comic tango as he mistakes the drunken chaperone for the bride to be. Tre’s funny antics wins accolades from the crowd and he stops the show when he delivers his name in a deep mysterious voice. Bill Bullard is comical as the producer, Feldzieg. Bill displays his voice in “Toledo Surprise” where he and the cast do a rousing Charleston. Some of his best moments occur when he does a slow burn with the gangsters as they threaten him continually. Another scene stealer is Rachel Cloutier as Kitty, his dumb girlfriend who wants to replace Janet in the show. The only thing is her character isn’t as talented as Janet. She displays her dancing prowess in “Toledo Surprise.”
Two more wacky characters are the two gangsters well played by Ellie Knapman and Chris Dusel who disguise themselves as pastry chefs. They have many puns about cooking and are reminiscent of the two thugs from “Kiss Me Kate.” They display their voices in “Toledo Surprise” and “Message from a Nightingale.” Their scene stealing antics are priceless. Playing the eccentric dowager, Mrs. Tottendale is Kristen Bond whose character has the audience rolling in the aisles with laughter at her ditsy portrayal. Kristen has funny spit take bits with her butler who brings her vodka when she asks for ice water. Jeffery Patota is her faithful comic British butler, Underling. Their duet “Love is Always Lovely in the End” is well done. Elizabeth Dennis plays Trix, a mysterious woman who solves the problems facing the cast in the finale. She belts out a song called “I Do, I Do in the Skies” while the cast dances around her. Producer Marie Knapman makes a cameo appearance as the Superintendent who turns the electricity back on. Rounding out the cast is Brian Francis and Olivia Vezina. So for a fantastic, fun filled evening of song and dance in this witty and entertaining 1920’s style farcical musical, be sure to catch the tongue in cheek “The Drowsy Chaperone” by the Bristol Theatre Company. They win a well deserved standing ovation at the close of the night. Be sure to tell them Tony sent you.
THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (8 to 11 March)
Bristol Theatre Company, Reynolds Arts and Wellness Center, 235 High St, Bristol, RI
